Love Me Not
by Zutara-Princess
Summary: Katara gets seperated from the gaang when a mysterious object nearly kills her, what happens when she wakes up to find Zuko? And will she ever learn what really happened the night she almost died? [zutara]
1. The Void

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. But I do own this story. You touch my story and I will not be happy. You read my story, and I will be happy. Read & review!**

**Zutara-Princess**

**The Void**

"Hey! That's mine! Give it back!"

"No!"

"It's mine!"

"Not anymore! _You _dropped it!

"I dropped on_ accident_! It's still mine!"

"Nuh-uh. I'm putting this in my toy box!"

"It's not a toy! It's a very dangerous weapon!"

"Finders keep-"

"GIMMIE BACK MY BOOMERANG!"

Sokka was starting to turn purple. Katara couldn't help but laugh obnoxiously in her head. Nothing was funnier than watching Sokka get made a fool of by a toddler. "Uumm, Katara, I found one." Katara tore her eyes away from the exceptionally large scene her brother and the little boy were making to look at Aang.

"You did? Let me see." She took the dark blue strand from Aang's outstretched palm.

"Will it fit?" Aang asked curiously.

"GIMMIE!" They heard Sokka roar. A very large crowd had gathered in front of the shop to watch the struggle.

She shrugged it off as her mind turned back to Aang. "I'm not sure, let's see." Katara said, and pulled her necklace from her pocket.

"Yes, Aang, I think it will. Thank you." she said as she measured the length of the string. Aang beamed happily at Katara, "You're welcome."

She took another look at the new strand that would soon be around her neck. It was the same size as the string to her necklace. Perfect.

She walked up to the shopkeeper, who was watching Sokka's argument through his shop window.

"Excuse me sir, can you help me? I need someone to switch the string on this necklace."

He turned his attention from the fight to Katara. He smiled politely. "Of course. We have quite a bargain today only. One copper piece & I'll take it off your hands."

Katara & the shopkeeper began to talk just as one of the windows crashed.

Apparently, the little boy sent the boomerang flying & from the looks of it, he'd probably thrown a boomerang before.

The boomerang twirled and headed strait for Katara, but she ducked just in time.

"Aaghh!" The shopkeeper yelled frightened as Sokka's boomerang pinned his topknot to the wall behind him.

"My boomerang!" Sokka yelled happily and ran into the shop. He grabbed his boomerang out of the hair of the still stunned shopkeeper and hugged it tightly as if the toddler was going to come and swipe it from his grasp.

He placed it carefully in its case, so it wouldn't fall out again.

"Katara, are you okay?" Aang asked worriedly as he ran from behind one of the shelves.

_Am I okay? What about the poor old shopkeeper?_

"I'm fine Aang." Katara turned around and knelt down beside the old man. "You don't look so good." she told him, a worried expression crossing her face. He didn't. He was deathly pale. If Sokka's boomerang had gone any lower, the shop keeper would have-

She shuddered. She didn't want to think about that. The old man shuddered too. Maybe he was thinking the same thing.

"Come on. We should take him to bed." Aang said. "Once he sleeps on it he'll feel better. But he might want to visit a barber when he wakes up." This was true. His hair was falling from what was left at the top of his head.

_Later..._

"Did they find the boy?" Katara asked, trying to make conversation. They had been silent for too long. It was driving her crazy.

"No, but he owes the shopkeeper a lot of money." Aang said. This was wonderful. Just wonderful. Nothing to talk about. Nothing to do. Nowhere to go until Appa's burns healed. They were stuck on this mad island in a mad town, with tons of mad people trying to hypnotize Katara into going mad as well.

And the worst part was, she could swear it was working.

If it wasn't for her waterbending she would have already gone mad. _My talent is the only thing that keeps me down to earth. _Sokka & Aang liked it here. _This town is for men, boys, & tomboys. I can't wait to leave._

Sokka yawned loudly. "I'm going to bed."

Aang & Katara yawned too. Aang snuggled against Appa while Katara got into her sleeping bag. Momo laid down on Appa's saddle and everyone sort of fell asleep.

Almost everyone.

_10 minutes later..._

Katara waited. She heard the snores of her brother & saw Aang's soft breath become a foggy white mist in the cold air.

She snuck out of her sleeping bag and wandered out towards the beach. She stripped to her undergarments and took a deep breath before diving off of a rock and into the cold, clear water. She swam down a few feet. She forgot to take off her necklace.

_Maybe I should go back up now. I need to put my necklace away in case I lose it._

_Why? When you can go down deeper. You can hold your breath a little longer._

_I don't know... It could be dangerous.._

_Come on. Just a little farther. It couldn't hurt..._

_I guess you're right..._

She swam a little deeper.

_Okay, I want to go back up now. I really do._

_Oh, come on. Just a little more... You're in water. Your element. What could possibly happen that you can't control?_

She swam down and down, until her lungs almost burst with need for air. She swam down as far as she possibly could, almost to the floor, leaving all her troubles on the rock from which she dove.

She saw something in the corner of her eye. Something was wrong, terribly wrong, and she had to warn Aang. She didn't know why, she just had to. She began to panic. This was bad.

She saw something large and black. Then she felt a great pressure push her back towards the rock. Something had just happened. She was being pulled towards the part of the rock the was under water.

Something was pushing on her back very hard. _What is that?_ It hurt. _I want up. This hurts too bad. _The more she tried to go upward, the farther down she went, and she really wanted to get above the surface now.

She felt so much pain in her back she couldn't stand it anymore. She wanted to die right there, to end it. _Too much pain! I can't take it! Make it stop! _

Finally the pressure built up and her mouth released all of the air her body had been concealing, until there was none left leaving her lungs exposed to the water. She gasped for air, and got nothing but water. It filled her lungs & left her clawing at the rock under the current.

Then she saw colors. The first one was red. Dark red. It was frightening, yet beautiful. It floated in the water like smoke in air.

_Is, is that blood! Sokka! Sokka! Help me! I don't want to die! Please! Save me! AANG! SOMEONE! HEAR ME! PLEASE!_

Then she saw green. The water of the sea. She couldn't see anything but colors, and the searing pain in her back increased with every desperate wish for breath. Her lungs were useless, they were completely filled with water.

Then suddenly, She saw black. The pain had stopped. She couldn't feel anything, or hear the pounding that had been filling her ears during the encounter. She was in a void. A lost place she had never been before. She wasn't breathing. She didn't need to. There was no pain in her lungs that told her she needed air.

She was just, there. It didn't matter where she was. It was so peaceful here, & it was hard to believe that there was ever another place in existence. She didn't know who Aang was, or Sokka. She'd never been to the south pole, or learned waterbending.

She didn't know of anything before this place. She had been here for a few seconds but it felt like an eternity. She'd been here, her entire life. An immortal being, no purpose, just there.

Her name was Katara. That was it, everything else just disappeared. She was tired. She fell into a deep, graceful slumber. Never to awaken.

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**Chapter 2: An Unlikely Friend**

**Zutara-Princess**


	2. An Unlikely Friend

**An Unlikely Friend**

"Uncle, where are you?" He couldn't see, it was so foggy.

"Zuko! Run towards my voice! I've found the emu!" Iroh shouted as loud as he could.

The wind blew his voice away so when it finally reached Zuko it was almost like a faint whisper.

"Uncle! I can't hear you! You have to yell louder!" He shouted back with as much strength as he could. He never thought he would lose his breath just shouting, but then, he was doing more than that. He was hanging on to the porch railing of a seaside shop for dear life, and shouting at the top of his lungs were not helping his condition any.

He could hear shouting, but identifying who it was was next to impossible.

He loosened his grip to get a better view of his surroundings, which is the last thing he should have done. He was swept away by the unsympathetic wind.

There was a lot of debris. Everywhere he looked he saw things flying, and he even thought he saw a cat.

He landed hard on cold earth. He tried to stand, but was blown backwards and his feet wouldn't move. He really wanted to leave the spot he was at, but his feet were protesting every time he moved them, and had been for the last three days. Now they were refusing to move at all.

He collided with something, but he probably hurt it more than it hurt him. _What is that?_ He grabbed onto it awkwardly. It was large and soft and something long and dark was swaying from what he figured was the top of it. He figured it would weigh him down so he could start walking instead of being dragged along the ground.

He was right. He didn't know where he was going, but realized that it was the wrong way as soon as he felt something cold reach his feet. He was about to walk straight into the sea. He turned slowly so he wouldn't drop whatever he had in his arms.

He looked around. Nothing. Only fog. _Where is Uncle? _He squinted. Maybe he could find him. Nope. But, wait. What was that? There was something there, it was…..a pair of doors, trap doors. _Shelter?_ He began walking towards it.

He forced himself onward. It was so hard to keep his balance. The wind was pushing him back, he couldn't stay like this for much longer.

He gripped the thing in his arms tighter, and pushed himself forward, and it looked like he was getting nowhere. He lost the two doors that he had been walking towards, and he almost fell.

But he didn't. He kept moving. Dragging his feet, who had the entire time been hurting in silent protest to his movements. He had to find some place to go. He wasn't going to die because of some bad weather. He had important things in his life that weren't worth leaving behind, and he wasn't gonna go without putting up a good fight.

He turned his head slightly to stop the loud whistling that the wind was pushing in his ears. And upon doing so, he noticed the two large trap doors he had been trying to find. They were less than three feet away and were swinging violently in the wind.

He walked up to them slowly, now gripping the object in his arms tighter than ever. He figured he could walk on his own now, but he wouldn't take a chance, after all, letting go of an inanimate object was what had got him into this mess in the first place.

Zuko stuck his foot out to hold one of the doors open. They seemed to be made of a very strong type of wood, which also made them very heavy.

He began to descend the narrow wooden stairs, his arms weary of carrying the object that had seemed to gain 100 pounds since he could last remember. And as soon as he reached the bottom he dropped it.

"OOWWW!" a voice said very groggily, but still loud enough for Zuko to hear.

"What was that? Who's there?" He said cautiously.

"Who are you?" the voice asked frightened.

Zuko lit a fire in his palm and gasped at what he saw. The object he had grabbed was a person, but not just any person. He had captured-

"The Avatar's waterbender." Zuko smirked. He put out the fire in his hand. This was a great opportunity to finally take the avatar and reclaim his honor and throne.

But then he remembered. He wasn't loved anymore. His father wanted him in prison. Thinking of the Avatar had simply become force of habit after hunting him for so long.

Katara's eyes widened with fear, and her heart started to pound. She fell and shrieked when she tried to move. Her back, it was searing, and the fact that she was heavily injured in the presence of her enemy was greatly terrifying to her.

She laid her head down and tried to stay completely still. She didn't care that Zuko was there, she just had to calm herself and free herself from the pain she was experiencing.

Zuko watched as the young waterbender tried to move. Her scream had filled what he had recently figured out was a cellar, and left his ears ringing.

He felt a pang of empathy. He knew what it was like to be in so much pain, and decided to help her. He had nothing against her after all, and he wasn't just going to sit there and watch her die. He hated death. Especially painful ones. Besides, being in the middle of a hundred-year-old war let him see enough death for a lifetime.

He resoluted silently that he would never let another person die if he could help it, unless under certain circumstances that he didn't need to explain to himself to know what they were.

He reached into his pocket and grabbed the knife his uncle had given him.

Katara saw something gleam in Zuko's hand. "What it is that? What are you doing? Get away from me!" she shouted. It was so empty in the cellar that her voice echoed and he winced at the sound. But he kept walking towards her. Katara's eyes began to water in pain.

She tried to move, but her back protested with everything she did. It even hurt to think. _Too much pain. I…I can't take it. It hurts too bad. _Suddenly, a pain started to shoot up and down her back, and her head was throbbing. She was so dizzy. Her back hurt worse then anything had ever hurt her before, and she let out an earsplitting scream.

Zuko was standing right in front of Katara. He ignored her protests and cries as he got on his knees to inspect her back. She rolled over and began to sob. _She's making this difficult._ He thought bitterly as he reached out to turn her over.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

He was getting fed up with her yelling. "Shut up!" he yelled almost as loud. "Hold still." he said much gentler, "Let me help you."

Normally, Katara would tell him he was one of the last people she would let help her. But the way she saw it, she had no other options. Zuko's request was by far the only thing she could take up on, so she laid still and let him turn her over onto her stomach, ignoring the pain it caused her.

Zuko took the knife and cut through the back of her top, soon realizing that she had nothing on underneath it. _Interesting._ Zuko thought to himself, and quickly cursed at himself for thinking such things. She was defenseless, that was wrong.

He looked at her back. There was a large cut running down from her shoulderblade, a little off of the center. Something was broken, but it appeared to only be skin. Her injury had already began to scab.

Katara fell limp. She had fallen asleep. Zuko took this opportunity to break the scab away.

The wound needed to be cleaned before he could let the blood clot. _If it scabs dirty it'll get infected. _He looked inside her wound. It was green only in two places, a result of infection that although causes a lot of pain is, thankfully, easy to cure, even for someone with no medical experience.

He just had to cut out the green areas in the back. And since this wound was shallow enough, he wouldn't have to stitch it. That was good, seeing he was never any good at sewing, and stitching was no different.

When he finished he took a bowl and gathered some water coming in through the cracks in the trap doors. He poured the water over her back, to sweep away all of the extra dirt.

Zuko sighed. He was exhausted. It had been a rough day. "Uncle, I hope your okay." Zuko whispered to himself. He laid himself down next to Katara. He looked at her face. She seemed so peaceful, and he liked that. He didn't know why, but he felt strangely comfortable around her. There was something about her he like a lot.

He realized what it was that he liked so much. She looked like a very young version of his mother. _She reminds me of her. _He fell asleep next to the young waterbender.

**Aaaww! Wasn't that sweet?**

**Chapter 3: Look Unto Me**

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**Zutara-Princess**


	3. Look Unto Me

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

**If I did, I would make Azula kill Ozai because Ozai would arrange a marriage between her and Zhou, and then she would find Zuko and apologize and give him the throne and Zuko would marry Katara and they would stay young forever and Aang would fall for Toph and marry her even though Avatars aren't supposed to marry and Sokka would die fighting for his little sister and he would become the moon spirit with Yue and everybody would be in love & happy (except for Zhou, because I would make sure Zuko put him in exile)!**

**The war would be over and everybody would live happily ever after.**

**But, alas, I can only dream. And if I did that, the show would be boring and too dramatic, and I would be sought out & killed by EVERY AVATAR FAN ON THE PLANET! I would really love to avoid that, so you (and I) had better hope I don't inherit Avatar!**

**Thanks for the reviews. I read them all and respond to them when I get the chance. R an R!**

**Zutara-Princess**

**Look Unto Me**

Zuko awoke abruptly. He sat up and looked around. Someone was there.

"You're up." He heard someone say. He turned around and saw the young waterbender sticking her head out of a very large crate.

"Yeah. What're you doing?" She was covered in soot and looked like she'd just been thrown into a dying fire.

"I'm hiding from you. I can't find a shirt." she said. She ducked back into the box and returned to her search.

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Women." he said.

Katara poked her head back out." What was that?"

"What was what?"

"Didn't you just say something?"

"No."

She frowned. "I swear I heard you say something."

"No! I didn't say anything! Now will you please shut up!" He was awake for only a minute and he was already getting fed up with her.

_I have to get out of here. I'm wasting time in this place. _He stood and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving. I need to find my Uncle." He said. The prince began to climb the stairs when he was interrupted.

"I wouldn't go out there!"

He was really getting tired of her now. He didn't understand what was wrong with her. He turned slightly in her direction.

"Why not?" He grinded slowly through his teeth.

Katara huffed. He was being rude.

"Well maybe I won't tell you, if you're going to be that way! You can just find out on your own." She went back into the box and tossed out a load of junk that wasn't clothing.

She had found a shirt but it was moth eaten and torn and barely covered more than her upper torso. She also found six pairs of pants and an earth kingdom warrior uniform, which was way too big on her.

Zuko glanced at her and saw her tattered shirt. She looked like a homeless peasant, and something inside him told him she was.

All of the clothes she had found were absolutely filthy.

He felt something tug at his heart at the sight of a young girl her age trapped in these conditions. He felt pity, and started to forget that she had been able to get on his nerves so quickly.

Katara turned and saw Zuko walking towards her with his shirt in one hand. Her heart began to race. _What does he want?_ She was absolutely terrified. If he wanted to attack her he would definitely win. The conditions of the cellar weren't in her favor, there was almost no water, and the tiny droplets from the ceiling wouldn't be enough to ward off an attack, let alone defend herself.

Zuko noticed she was staring right at him. She looked scared. This annoyed him. He couldn't believe why she would think he would hurt her. Then he thought of the south pole, and the north pole, and the pirate incident, and the time he teamed up with Jun, and- well, maybe he could understand.

He was afraid that she was going to start throwing things at him, so he stopped short and held out his hand.

"Here. Put this on."

Katara stared at his hand. _He's giving me his shirt? Why?_ She looked at him hesitantly before reaching out and taking it from him.

He turned around so she could change and turned back when he heard her struggling to get out of the box.

"Why shouldn't I leave?" he asked suddenly, remembering what she had said.

"Huh?"

"Why shouldn't I leave?" He repeated.

She looked questioningly at him and suddenly realized what he meant. "Oh! The storm hasn't died. I think it's getting worse." She told him.

Zuko furrowed his brow and frowned to himself. _This is just great. The storm still hasn't passed and I'm stuck in a cramped cellar with an annoying water peasant. As if this couldn't get any worse, I still don't know where uncle is. I'm gonna be stuck here for a while, and this will drag out even longer if she's here._

Zuko suddenly remembered something.

_"If we are going to be stuck here together, we might as well learn more about each other." Iroh said to the entire room. "Let me start. I am retired General Iroh, of the Fire Nation, and former Dagon of the West. I laid siege on the fabulous city of Ba-Sing-Sei for 600 days, but returned home after the death of my son, Lu-Ten. I enjoy tea, and my favorite flavor is Gin-Seng. I love to go for walks, I relax often, and I love to shop." Iroh turned to Aang. "Now it is your turn. Tell us about your self, young boy."_

That was when Zuko and his uncle were trapped in a mine shaft with the avatar and that water peasant, Sokka. Sokka had been forced to introduce himself by the avatar, although he didn't seem like he wanted to.

He decided that he would listen to his uncle, after all, his uncle was usually right about a lot of things.

"Have we ever been formally introduced?" Zuko asked suddenly. He knew they hadn't, but asking a question seemed like the most innocent conversation starter he could think of.

Katara looked at Zuko. _Why would he ask me something like that?_

"I don't think so, why?"

"Well if we are going to be stuck here together, we might as well introduce ourselves." He said without thinking.

He knew he was going to say something like that, but if he thought about saying something, he would end up keeping his mouth shut.

"Why don't you start." He said.

Katara looked at Zuko and decided that their was no harm in telling him her name.

"I am Katara, of the Southern Water Tribe."

Zuko looked at her. _That's it?_

Katara just sat their, looking at him expectantly. He suddenly realized why she was sitting like that. She was waiting for him to say something. He blushed and looked away so she wouldn't see him.

Then he turned back. "I am Prince Zuko, of the Fire Nation."

They heard a loud crash from outside, and rain started pouring into the cellar, along with the howling wind.

They both instinctively rushed towards the two trap doors, but Zuko got there first. He grasped ahold of he two door handles and tried to pull them shut. They wouldn't move, the force was too strong.

Katara reached out and grasped the knobs over Zuko's hands and helped him pull.

"Ow!" Zuko said loudly. The numbing cold was whipping him like a blade, and Katara was gripping the knob tightly, which meant she was gripping his hands even tighter.

"Just a little more..."

The two door slammed shut so suddenly it sent the two teens flying backwards down the stairs and into the opposite wall.

"Ohh..." Katara groaned, rubbing the back of her neck.

Zuko stood and helped her up. Although his hands were throbbing, the doors would have never shut without her.

"Uuhh... thanks." He said.

Katara smiled. He sounded a little on the sheepish side. Then she remembered something.

"Zuko."

Zuko looked up at the sound of his name.

"Why did you help me, last night when I was hurt?" Katara asked curiously. After all, he was the one who had fought her on several occasions and caused her a lot of the injuries she received constantly. Helping her recover, not only seemed strange but it sounded ludicrous.

The truth was, Zuko didn't even know why. _She really knows how to make someone uncomfortable._

Zuko figured he needed time to think of an answer, so he decided to make time.

"Ask me later."

"But-"

"Would you please leave me alone?"

"Would you please just tell me and I'll leave you alone?" Katara was very curious.

Zuko sighed. He should have known she wasn't going to give up so easily.

There was a long pause. Katara turned around to face away from Zuko. She couldn't think of anything else to say that would make him change his mind. But she

turned back around when she heard his voice. He had taken a seat on a very small crate, and was speaking very quietly, so she had to stay absolutely silent, for even the smallest thought could block out what he was saying.

"You were dying. I hate death, and I avoid it whenever possible, even if it means saving the life of a person I don't like or know. Have you ever seen someone die? I have. Watching death is a sad thing, and even when you don't know the person, you still can't stop thinking about them for a very long time. Do you even know what it's like to stand there and watch someone lose something as precious as life when you can do nothing to help them?"

He let what he had said penetrate her mind. The whole time, Katara had watched him speak. But at these words she had to look away. Tears slid silently down her face as she choked back a sob.

Zuko looked up as he heard a strange sound come from her throat.

She only let one word leave her lips.

"Yes."

**So whaddya think? Be honest. Review!**

**Chapter 4: Katara's Tale**

**Title says all! Oh, and I apologize to A True Dreamer. I told her (I saw her profile so I know it's a girl) that this chapter would be out a lot sooner than it was.**

**I really don't know about this chapter. I couldn't exactly edit it very often.**

**My computer is having some trouble. We had a Trojan virus that stole some very personal information from me and it kept shutting down our computer (weird, huh?) so we had to fix that. Can't make anymore promises, but I'm usually really good about keeping up with things, so don't forget to keep reviewing and I'll try to get Chapter 4 in ASAP!**

**(To be honest, I think I went a little fast with this chapter. When I read it, everything seems a little rushed.)**

**Zutara-Princess**


	4. Katara's Tale

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. But I do own this story. YTYD! Read and review!**

**Zutara-Princess**

**Katara's Tale**

Katara bit her bottom lip. "Yes I do."

Zuko's eyes widened as Katara's battle against tears grew hopeless. She fell against the wall and slid to the floor, one hand limp to her side, while the back of the other was pressed against her mouth.

She began to sob.

Zuko didn't know what to do. _Should I try to comfort her? Should I apologize? Why do I even care?_

He swallowed his pride, something which had become easier to do when he rejected his family.

"I...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked that. It's your life, none of my business." He was pretty much lost for words.

Katara heard his apology and suddenly felt very stupid for breaking out into tears the way she had.

"No, no. I'm sorry, it's...it's just, nothing. It's nothing." Katara assured him as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

Zuko suddenly understood. It _was_ something. Or more like somebody. She must have lost someone she loved. That would explain her sudden emotional outburst. He had those all the time after he lost his mother. After she ran away.

He stood from the crate he was on and went over to where she sat.

Katara heard him sit down next to her, but she didn't act like she noticed. She was too busy trying to calm herself. In the last few hours calming down had become unusually hard to do.

She looked up and turned to see Zuko watching her with his lovely golden eyes. She never really bothered to notice his eyes before, and his scar only made them look slightly tragic to her.

"Tell me what happened." He said softly.

Katara could tell that he really wanted to know. But she wasn't sure about telling him something so personal. She hadn't even told Aang about her mother. All he knew was that she died in a Fire Nation raid.

But Zuko's eyes were persistent, and she knew she had to cave. He wouldn't stop staring at her, even though she wanted him to. She could feel his eyes burning into her neck when she turned away, making shivers run up and down her spine as her head tingled.

"My mother. She died when I was seven. She was the only female warrior in the entire south pole. A group of Fire Nation soldiers came and raided our village, and they showed no mercy."

_7 Years Earlier..._

_"Katara. Katara, wake up. Please, honey, wake up and listen to me."_

_Katara opened her eyes and yawned. "Mom?"_

_Satsuma shook her daughter until her eyes were wide open. "Mom? What's wrong?"_

_She could tell by her mother's facial expression that something was bothering her._

_Worse than bothering her, whatever it was, it seemed to horrify her. She was sweating and out of breath like she had just ran a mile. In fact, Katara actually thought that she had._

_Katara started to shake. She could feel her mother's fear, and the fact that this was as scared as she had ever seen her before made it even worse._

_"Katara..."_

_Satsuma stopped. Her daughter was only seven years old. She had to say this carefully or else Katara would panic._

_"Do you remember the big bad Fire ship stuck in the ice by the shore?" Satsuma said slowly, trying to be careful and watch what came out of her mouth._

_Katara nodded her head. Gran-Gran had told the children about the ship that came to attack their village years ago._

_Satsuma saw her daughter reply and continued._

_"Well, another one just landed. And the people on it have your daddy. "_

_Katara's eyes widened. "The big bad ship has Daddy?"_

_"Yes. But don't worry," She added quickly, before Katara had time to say anything more, "because Mommy is going to get Daddy back."_

_"You are? How?"_

_"How isn't important. But before I leave," She reached into her pocket and pulled something out. "I want to give this to you. You must promise me that you will keep it with you always, and pass it down to your daughter someday."_

_Katara nodded as a small trinket was placed in her hands._

_She was about to look at it when her mother grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the door of the tent. "Katara, your brother and the rest of the village are in there. I want you to go there and wait for me, do you understand?"_

_Katara nodded her head again. "Yes, Mom."_

_"Good. Now scoot. I'll see you in a little while." She pushed Katara out the door and headed for the gate at the front of the village._

_Katara saw her mother leave and decided to follow her. She knew she would never forgive herself for waiting. She took off after her mother._

_Katara looked around after leaving the village gates. It was pitch black._

_She couldn't see a thing. "Should've brought a lantern." she told herself._

_Reaching her hands out blindly she felt her way around the village until she reached the shore. Using the moon to light her way, Katara followed a dark figure that appeared to be her mother. It was quite a distance ahead, but it was close enough to hear it's feet slap along the ground._

_She followed the figure for a long time, and Katara started to wonder if they were getting close._

_She noticed the figure turning to the right, out towards a cove, and when Katara looked a little further to the right she gasped._

_The ship was so massive she was sure the entire Fire Nation was on board. Even at her distance she had to look almost all of the way up just to see the top._

_She didn't want her mother to get on that ship, she had a feeling something bad was going to happen._

_Katara started to run. She knew if her mother saw her she would get in trouble, but she would gladly be grounded for years on end if it meant saving her mother's life. She ran right up to the figure which was wearing a dark hooded coat and hugged it around the legs tightly._

_"No! Don't get on! I don't want you to! Please!" Katara wasn't entirely sure who she was talking to, but she didn't want them to get on the ship anyway, since the figure was probably her mother._

_"Katara!" a female voice said in a loud whisper. "How did you- What're you doing!"_

_Satsuma turned and grabbed her daughter by the wrists._

_"Katara! Do you remember what I told you? Go back, to the-"She was interrupted by a loud voice._

_"I thought you said you were coming alone." a Fire Nation soldier had stepped onto the cove from the stairwell attached to the ship. "That child is going to have to come with me."_

_"No!" Satsuma blocked her daughter from the soldiers view._

_"Please, don't hurt her! She followed me here, she didn't know. Let her leave!"_

_I'm afraid I can't do that. The only way we can let her and the rest of the village go is if you come with us."_

_Katara looked at her mother. "Mommy? What does he mean?"_

_Satsuma looked into her daughter's questioning eyes._

_"You mean to tell me that your own child has no idea? How sad. Why don't I fill her in?" The soldier said maliciously._

_"No! You are never to make contact with my daughter If you want me to go quietly, do you understand?"_

_She glared at the soldier._

_"Lieutenant! Is there a problem?" an elderly man called from the top of the stairs._

_"Captain Shu! Yes sir. There appears to be one more lady than we expected." The lieutenant responded._

_"Well, well, lieutenant, where are your manners?" Captain Shu asked as he descended the large, iron stairwell. "You must introduce me."_

_Katara backed away. Her mother pushed her and yelled "Run, Katara!"_

_Katara tried to move backwards some more but was stopped by the lieutenant. "Where do you think you're going?"_

_She shrieked when the big man grabbed her arms and pushed her towards the ship._

_"KATARA!" Satsuma yelled._

_She struck the lieutenant with her fists, forgetting all about her waterbending at that moment in fear for her child._

_The blow had gone to his head, and although it did little damage, it had shocked him enough to let Katara go. She ran towards her mother and hid behind her._

_"Katara, leave now!" Satsuma yelled. She wasn't about to lose her daughter to these freaks._

_Katara looked up at her mother and saw her eyes. They were big and blue, and everyone that ever saw them together would say they looked so much alike. Katara loved the idea that she looked like her mother, because her mother was so beautiful._

_But right now, she was glaring at the two men before them, her hands up and ready to fight if she needed to, she didn't look so beautiful. She looked angry._

_"Katara, go now!"_

_Katara was frightened by these words, and the force her mother used with them. She turned and ran in the opposite direction. She heard the three struggling but she didn't dare to look back, at least, not until she was safe behind a large glacier._

_She heard some screaming on deck and saw her father running down the flight of stairs to help her mother._

_Satsuma looked up and saw her husband running towards her._

_"Satsuma, look out!" He shouted and pointed behind her. But it was too late._

_Something hit Katara like a ton of bricks, and she gasped as the words reared their ugly head in her mind._

_Her mother was going to die today._

_"AAAHHHH!" Satsuma shrieked at the top of her lungs. She had been set aflame by the lieutenant._

_"No." Katara whispered to herself._

_She shook her head and shut her eyes. She sat down on the other side of the glacier, her hands covering her ears to drown out her mother's screaming, her entire body shaking at what she had just witnessed._

_After several minutes dragged by, Katara cautiously took her hands off of her ears, half expecting to hear her mother's screams and cries of pain. But she heard nothing of the sort. She heard sobbing, and turned to see her father mourning over the loss of his wife._

_"Mom?" Katara whispered._

_She walked up to the heap of a man that was her father and sat down beside him. He didn't seem to notice her._

_"Daddy?" Her father turned to see his daughter's eyes._

_"Katara." He smiled sadly. Through all he had just seen, he smiled. He had to. His daughter was just so innocent._

_Then reality hit him. His wife was gone. He would never hold her again. He could never look into her eyes, or wake up next to her each morning. He could only tell her he loved her, and hope that some kind spirit would relay the message to her._

_"Katara, I love you." He said and reached to hug his daughter. He couldn't look at the smoldered remains of his wife anymore. He hardly even noticed the two men leave soon after she was engulfed in fire._

_He can only remember what the captain had told the other man. "Nice work, Lieutenant Zhou." Those words rang through his head like the screams of his wife._

_Lieutenant Zhou..._

_Lieutenant Zhou..._

_Lieutenant Zhou..._

_Zhou..._

_Zhou..._

_He suddenly gripped his daughter tighter. "Katara, you and Sokka are all I have left of her. Please tell me you'll never leave. Promise you will always stay with me."_

_Katara felt like she was going to suffocate, but she didn't care. "I promise, Daddy." She said, and returned the hug._

_Katara noticed her hand was sweaty and she let go of her father._

_She realized the entire time she had instinctively been gripping onto the thing her mother gave her, and she still didn't know what it was._

_Katara's father wondered why his daughter had let go so suddenly, and he noticed she was staring at her hand. It was balled up in a tight fist like she was clutching something._

_"Watcha got there, sweetie?" He asked gently. Katara opened her palm and they both gasped at what they saw._

_"Mommy gave me her special necklace." Katara whispered loud enough for her father to hear._

_They both suddenly burst into tears, crying for everything, and clutching each other as if they were going to die if either of them let go._

Katara was shaking uncontrollably now.

Zuko didn't know what compelled him to do what he did next.

He wrapped his arms around Katara and held her as tight as he could do without choking her. Katara noticed but was to sad to do anything about it, not that she would have even if she could.

Zuko was shocked at what he had heard. Her story seemed a thousand times worse than his. And the most amazing part was, she was still going. She wasn't obsessed with killing Fire Nation soldiers and getting revenge, her only vision was the greater good. All she wanted to do was help the Avatar master the elements to stop the war.

He actually wanted the war to be over just as much as she did.

Katara was glad Zuko had embraced her. It helped her calm down quite a bit.

They just sat there quietly. They didn't make a sound. They didn't have to.

Zuko wanted to stay like that forever, and felt like he could. There was something about her he had attached himself to, and now that he was there, he couldn't pry himself off.

Katara usually hated silence. It was always too quiet with Sokka and Aang. But silence with Zuko seemed so, refreshing. She enjoyed it, and savored every moment of it.

**Ha! I love this chapter! I think I really outdid myself this time. Not really a lot of fluff until the end though. But then again, Zuko really isn't the fluffy kind of person. Review!**

**Chapter five: A Light in the Storm**

**Thanx 4 readin'!**

**Zutara-Princess**


	5. A Light in the Storm

**Mushi-mushi! I feel unusually happy right now. Well, actually, maybe happy is the wrong word. I feel unusually cheerful.**

**I still haven't got the slightest idea as to how I'm going to end this story, and I'm already working on another one.**

**When you review tell me wether or not I am stupid for writing two stories at the same time! Oh, and my other story is for people who are waiting for the next chapter in this story to come out. They can read an' enjoy an' review an' not yell at me for the very evil crime I have commited in the writing of this chapter!**

**Zutara-Princess**

**A Light in the Storm**

Katara woke up for the third time that night. Something was bothering her, but she was so tired that she kept falling asleep before realizing what it was.

The first time she woke up, Zuko had his arms around her and they were slumped over against the wall, with his head resting on her elbow.

She had managed to wiggle her way out of his grip and put him in a more comfortable position on the floor before laying down beside him, her back to his face.

The second time she woke up, Zuko was snoring terribly loud, and Katara thought for sure that even Princess Yue could hear him.

She had rolled over and noticed why Zuko was snoring. He hadn't woken up since she moved him, but the clothes she had thrown at him earlier had fallen off of his bare chest, and when he rolled over onto them, his upper back was arched up, and his head on the ground, causing him to snore.

His snoring had been so loud that Katara had jabbed him in his chest hard and faked sleep when he bolted upward.

This time, Zuko was silent, and she figured he was asleep. She thought about moving, but she was too comfortable, she just didn't want to.

Finally, after several minutes of debating the matter in her head, she decided to move. She knew that if she didn't find out what it was that was bugging her now, she would just keep waking up like this.

Zuko had his eyes open. He was facing Katara, but it was so dark he knew she couldn't see him if she woke up.

Ever since she stabbed him, he had been awake. She really got him good. His chest still ached and he was sure she had damaged one of his internal organs, or at least gave him a huge black & blue bruise.

He heard rustling from her direction and noticed she was standing. _Please don't leave, please don't leave, please don't leave... _Zuko chanted in his mind. He couldn't help himself. She was a fly trap and he was the fly. He was attatched now, he'd had a taste and wanted more.

Katara walked towards the stairway. Whatever was bothering her, it was coming from outside. Or more like wasn't coming from outside. It was so quiet. She had a hunch but-

Katara started up the stairs. The wind that had been blowing mecilessly for almost three days. Her stomache growled, and she knew she heard Zuko's stomache a little while ago.

She had gone much longer than this with hardly anything to eat, but she was still starting to feel fatiged. She clutched her stomache and marched as quietly as she could up the stairwell.

Zuko heard the steps creak under her weight and wondered if this was the terrible moment she would leave him all alone. He wanted to talk to her, she was so kind and forgiving, he thought he could tell her anything and she would never get mad.

When she reached the doors she pushed up on them to move them out of her way, she blinked at the blinding sunlight, but as soon as her eyes adjusted she gasped at what she saw.

Trees had been uprooted, and boats were overturned. Everything was destroyed, and nothing was recognizable.

Dolls, clothes, silverware, even entire houses had blown to the storm's will.

Children were on the streets begging for food, and this was a very wealthy island. She even thought she saw the toddler Sokka had encountered, and had to look back to make sure. Yeah, it was him alright, and she had a few words to say to him, but now was not the time. She was hungry and she had to find food.

Zuko sat up and looked several feet away, at the bottom of the steps. He saw Katara's shadow just standing there. He wondered what she was doing, but he was afraid that if he moved than she would, and she would leave him forever.

Katara was deep in thought. If she stayed longer with Zuko than life might be a lot easier, at least until she found Sokka and Aang. But if she did travel with Zuko and they discovered the two, what then? That would lead to a lot of awkward questions and a lot of uncomfortable answers.

But Zuko had shown her kindness, a soft side she had never seen before. And although she had only gathered a glimpse of it, she knew somewhere there just had to be more, she just needed to dig a little deeper. Besides, he had saved her life. She couldn't just abandon him. It was out of the question.

She turned around, away from the pitiful sight of the now homeless locals, and descended the stairs gloomily. Seeing the town had put her in a sad mood, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to anyone, including Zuko. But he had those eyes, and she knew if he used them against her she would speak. It was one of her weaknesses, and complying with his requests were the only way to make him stop.

Zuko heard her coming down and he sighed in relief. The entire time Katara had been up there, he had been holding his breath, and he was starting to turn scarlet. Katara was on the second to the last step, and Zuko decided to make his presence known. "Good morning." He said while yawning.He figured he should probably appear as if he just woke up.

Katara didn't answer, but she walked past him and sat down next to a crate.

Zuko couldn't help but feel ignored, and his heart sank a little. "Is something wrong?"

Again, Katara didn't reply, but instead pointed towards the doors at the top of the stairs.

Zuko got up to see. When looking through the doors from the bottom of the steps, everything seemed perfect, the sun was out, light was pouring into the cellar so they could see it properly for the first time, and the birds were flying and chirping merrily.

But as he approached the top of the stairs, he was probably even more shocked than Katara. He had never actually seen a village ripped to shreds the way this one was. It was horrible.

Katara bit her lips as tears slid down her face. _All of those poor people. Children and women on the streets, begging for food. It reminds me of..._ Her thoughts trailed of as pictures of her village began to flood her mind.

Her father had brought her back to the village when they had finished mourning over her mother, Satsuma, and they discovered that their once great city was turned to rubble. All of the waterbenders except for her and her father had died in the raid. Another Fire Navy ship had landed in secret, no one knew about it, not even Satsuma. When it came time for them to invade, the town had been completely caught offgaurd, and unprotected.

Two of the men and Sokka had led several of the villagers to safety, but the rest were gone.

Katara's village was completely destroyed, and dead bodies had been everywhere, some were Fire Nation, but most were Water Tribe.

By the time Zuko had returned, his mood darkened as well, he discovered Katara fighting her silent tear battle once more.

He had learned by watching Katara the night before, that support sometimes helped her to calm down. He hated seeing her cry. It tore his heart in two, and he would die a little every time she did.

He walked over to Katara and sat down beside her, in a similar manner to the way he had last night, and embraced her tightly.

But this time, instead of ignoring him Katara gripped him back, holding no more tears as she released them all in to his welcoming (yet still bare) shoulder.

Zuko was surprised at her quick reaction, but he wiped the thought from his mind as her head moved from his shoulder to his chest. His arms were around her shoulders, their grip having loosened slightly, and she lay slumped against his body.

Katara's tears died down slowly, and she sniffled a little bit. Her face was tear-stained and before she could realize it Zuko pulled her up onto his lap. He turned her head towards him with his hand and kissed her.

A small yet lingering kiss, that had both of their stomaches fluttering with butterflies.

Katara was so shocked that she almost didn't hear the voice that came from the top of the stairs.

"Well, well, how sweet. Zuzu's got a girlfriend." the voice hissed.

Zuko and Katara looked up to see the owner of the voice, and they both gasped.

Zuko stared directly into the equally golden eyes of his sister, Azula. She was staring them down with cold eyes, hatred etched in her very soul.

**I told you guys you would hate me! But part of the genre includes _action_, which means that I have to get at least a little fighting in here.**

**And guess what, I'm not sorry! Ha! Live with it! You know how Azula likes to ruin everything, (and if you don't than here's a bit of info for you, Azula likes to ruin everything) so if you're gonna get mad, get mad at her!**

**Chapter Six: From Azula's Clutches**

**REVIEW!REVIEW!REVIEW!REVIEW!REVIEW!REVIEW!REVIEW!REVIEW!REVIEW!REVIEW!REVIEW!REVIEW!REVIEW!REVIEW!**

**DO IT! DOITDOITDOITDOITDOITDOITDOITDOITDOTIDOITDOITDOIT!**

**Ah. That's better. Glad that's outta my system.**

**Chapter Six: From Azula's Clutches**

**Wait, I think I already said that. Oh well.**

**C ya nxt time!**

**Zutara-Princess**


	6. From Azula's Clutches

_Zutara-Princess: Ha! I rock! I am so awesome. I'm finally done with chapter 6! Sorry to keep you waiting for so long! Since you are probably yelling at me for not getting this up sooner, I'll shut up and let you read._

_Zuko: But what about me? Don't I get to talk to the readers? sniffles_

_Zutara-Princess: OMG I'm so sorry Zuko! I didn't mean to forget you! You can say R an' R, does that sound good?_

_Zuko: perky O.K.! R an' R! See ya after the show! Read an' Review-_

_Zutara-Princess: sighs, rolls eyes I should've left him in the closet._

_Zuko: TTYL! TTFN! So long! See ya later! Hugs and-_

_Zutara-Princess: ENOUGH!_

_Zuko: ...Sheesh. Somebody's in a bad mood today._

_R an' R!_

**Zutara-Princess**

**From Azula's Clutches**

She smirked. Not only was she more powerful, but now he had a weakness, and she could toy with him all the more.

Zuko couldn't stop staring, and Katara gripped his arm tightly in fear. She had know idea what the Fire Princess was doing here, but she was sure it was for nothing good.

"Where did you come from?" Zuko asked sternly, standing from where he was.

"Oh, you aren't going to introduce me? We've only just met..." Azula said sarcastically.

"Whoa!" As soon as Azula had finished speaking, Katara tried to stand up, but was so nervous that when she did she tumbled to the side, and due to the fact that she had his arm in a death-grip, Zuko fell over with her.

She figured this was a perfect opening, so she jumped and landed carefully into the depths of the blackened pit. _It's difficult to see, looks like I'll have to find a way to use that against him..._

She struck, but with the inability to view her opponents' positions, she had only managed to singe the edge of Katara's shirt.

"Mph!" Katara was about to scream, but since Zuko had covered her mouth so it came out muffled and so quiet it was nearly impossible to hear.

_This is bad. I can't strike her, my fire will give us away. We only have one option._ He began whispering in Katara's ear, nowhere near audible to Azula, who had been growing impatient to their silence.

Azula looked around, this was no condition for her to be fighting in. They couldn't see her, but she couldn't see them either, the only advantage she could possibly get would be if one of them was stupid enough to step into the light.

"Give it up, brother," Azula said maliciously, "you've already lost."

Zuko grinned widely. He had never thought Azula to be so stupid. Both in what she had said and the fact that she had said it _at all_.

He leaned over and whispered in Katara's ear, "Now."

She slowly movd to the other side, as Azula continued to speak.

"Let me guess, should we be expecting children?" Azula asked, reffering to Katara.

_That's right, keep talking._

"You know, father would never stand for that. If you try it he _will_ have me kill you. You're lucky you're his son, or else he would have had you dead a long time ago."

Katara had slowly gathered enough water to strike, but she felt safe with just a little more. Zuko had said she would be expecting an attack, but not from Katara. If she could take Azula down, or at least get her by surprise, Zuko wouldn't have to use his bending and they could get out.

_Aaarghh! This isn't working. I need to find some way to make him strike, or at least say something back._ Talking was giving away her postion, but to win you have to make sacrifices, and that is what she was doing.

She only hoped her sacrifice wouldn't be in vain.

"Honestly, did you ever think about Mai? She's much more suitable. She may not be a firebender, but she is Fire _Nation_, and an excellent fighter all the same. Besides, her father is a goverener, much opposed to that water peasant." Azula said icily.

Zuko could feel his fire rise, and he was tempted to let it erupt, but if he did, he would make it visible to where everything and everyone was. He couldn't put Katara in that kind of danger.

Katara stepped out from behind one of the crates and walked towards the edge of the darkness slowly. She had to be careful, if her foot touched the border of light even slightly, she will have given away her position, and would not be able to strike.

She pulled the water up around ankles, using her bending to prevent any chance of it slipping away. Katara waited for Azula to speak once more.

"Or maybe Ty Lee? She's suitable, I suppose..."

Zuko shivered, despite the fact that sweat was mixing in his brow. Just the mention of him and Ty Lee made him want to smother Azula.

Katara turned to face Zuko, hoping he would see her, but of course, it was hopeless. It was too dark. She walked up to him instead pulling her water behind her. She wasn't exactly sure how his plan was going to work. She decided to come up with her own.

"Zuko," she whispered as quietly as possible, "I need a distraction."

He nodded and instantly moved to the left, not bothering to stay quiet.

When Azula heard movement she struck as fast as light, careful not to miss the spot where the sound had come from. It hit one of the many crates that occupied the basement.

As soon as Katara spotted where the light had come from, she forced all of her energy into the strike, ignoring Aang and Toph's warning. As she was freezing the water Zuko grabbed her arm and pulled her up the stairs.

"Zuko!"

"What?"

"We've...been running...forever! Can we...please...stop now?" an out of breath Katara said heavily, trying to ease the sound of her wheezing.

"Okay." he stopped, and Katara fell to the ground, trying to catch her breath.

Zuko was breathing hard too.

"C'mon, lets go," he said and pulled her away.

_A/N: Sorry guys, not a lot of fluff here, I'll try to fix that later. Where does Zuko take Katara? I'll tll you in the next chapter._

_Zuko: I know where! I take Katara to McDonald's so we can eat dinner!_

_Zutara-Princess: Would you please stop bugging me about dinner? I let you eat healthy food that won't make your six pack abs go flabby!_

_Katara: Zuko has six pack abs?_

_Zutara-Princess: Well, duh, you didn't know that?_

_Katara: No. I've never seen Zuko's chest before._

_Zutara-Princess: OMG! We need to get you to a T.V. right now!_

_Zuko: Review, please!_

**Zutara-Princess**


	7. The Surprise

**Zutara-Princess: **_Everyone that isn't at my house, FEEL LUCKY!!!!!! Sokka, Aang, Katara, Iroh, and Sasuke are here, and none of them will leave me alone!!!!!!_

Sasuke: _I don't feel so good..._

Sokka:_ Maybe you had too much cactus juice._

Katara:_ Cactus juice!? Where would he get cactus juice, Sokka!?_

Sokka_ Why're you looking at me like that?_

Zutara-Princess:_ I saw you last summer, and I know what you did..._

Sokka: _Huh? What are you talking about???_

Zutara-Princess: _You gave Sasuke cactus juice!!!!!!!_

Aang:_ YOU'RE ALL CRAZY!!!!!! (runs off crying)_

Iroh:_ What's his problem?_

Everyone: _TEA!!!!!!! (tackles Iroh)_

Iroh:_ NNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! MY TEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

Katara:_ HOLD ON!!!!!!!_

Everyone:_ (stops)_

Katara:_ Where's Zuko?_

Zutara-Princess:_ Uuummmm...He went over to PrincessPink18's house. I thought you already knew that._

Zuko:_ R an' R!!_

Zutara-Princess: _Zuko! How'd you get here?_

Zuko: _I'm on I.M._

Everyone: _Oooohhhhh..._

**The Surprise**

Zuko pulled on her arm and led her farther away from her previous resting place.

"Zuko! Where are we going?"

"Ssshhhhhhh...be quiet. It's a surprise."

Katara blinked.

"A surprise?"

He heard her curiosity and almost kicked himself. Telling her something was a surprise would pretty much give it away.

"Yes, a surprise. Now be quiet until we get there."

_Nice going, smart guy, _Zuko thought. _That was way too rude._

But Katara didn't seem too much affected by what he was saying. She seemed too preoccupied in her own thoughts.

Zuko let go of her so she could follow him. This worked for a little while, until they entered the Forest of Widows. The locals called it this because the trees often collapsed on the men that came here to hunt, making their wives widows.

The moment Katara entered the heavily wooded area, she tripped over a root, and, in shock, reached out for the closest thing she could find that would break her fall, which just happened to be Zuko.

She grasped his shoulder tightly and pulled him backwards. The panic of the moment left them both speechless.

Once impact was made, however, Zuko jumped to his feet.

"Watch it," he said warningly, and helped Katara stand.

"Sorry," she replied in a sheepish manner.

He turned and began walking again.

The forest was thick and dark, and Katara stumbled several times over loose roots or overgrown weeds, and this seemed to irritate Zuko thouroughly.

"Watch where you're going, maybe then you'll actually be able to stay upright for more than a few seconds," he said harshly.

Katara's face turned a bright shade of crimson, and at a glance someone would say she was sun burned.

She felt the urge to retort, but figured that it would probably be better if they led a silent walk the rest of the way there.

There.

There was that simple word again, the one that could mean a thousand things, _there_.

_Where was _there_, exactly? A beautiful rainbow portratying magnificent colors?_ _A river that flowed up a mountain instead of down? _

All of her little girl fantasies had awakened inside of her, and before she knew it, she was thinking of the most rediculous things.

_Can he tell I'm thinking about him? What if he's hearing my very thoughts right now? Um, hi, um, Zuko. STOP LISTENING TO MY THOUGHTS YOU FILTHY EAVESDROPPER!!! Oh my God, what if he heard that? Get a grip, Katara, you're only fooling yourself, there's no way he can hear you. I think I'm going insane..._

Katara kept thinking ludacris things and had stopped paying attention to the ground long ago, which, to her releif, was actually visible. The woods were thinning and the slightest bit of sun shone throgh and brought a small amount of warmth in her. She had been completey unaware of how cold she was until then.

Shivering, she brought Zuko's shirt tighter around herself. She peered over at Zuko and wondered how he could stand such cold weather, and without a shirt, no less!

Katara shook her head and figured that too much thinking was bad for her, so she decided upon a peaceful walk the rest of the way there, no thoughts, no words.

------------

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we almost there?"

"Would you stop asking me questions?"

"Why? You just asked me one."

"Yeah, but you asked me _two_."

"So?"

"See? There's another one!"

"Yeah, from _you_."

"And _you_!"

Katara growled in frustration.

"Do you at least know how far until we get there?" she asked desperately.

"Ssshhhhhh...be quiet, and stay here, I'll be right back." Zuko whispered, right before dissappearing.

Katara watched him leave.

"But-"

"Quiet!" he said hushedly, from a distance.

Katara was getting fed up with his lack of answers, so she stomped her foot, crossed her arms, and turned away.

Zuko rolled his eyes and continued on.

He leaped to a low branch and landed nimbly on his feet. He searched for the perimeter for any sign of life besides Katara. When he found nothing, he sighed.

"Good," he smiled inwardly, and returned to Katara.

She looked up at him.

"Where did you go?" she asked expectantly, determined to get an answer this time.

"You'll find out in a second. Now turn around."

Katara raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"So I can blindfold you."

"What?!"

"Yes, now turn around."

"No!"

"I'm not gonna hurt you. Just turn around."

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"Just trust me. If you don't it'll ruin the surprise."

Katara's suspicions grew, but her curiousity won out and she decided whatever he did probably wouldn't be too bad.

"Fine," she sighed.

He tore a peice of cloth from his shirt where it sagged on Katara, and tied it securly around her eyes.

"Now follow my lead," he instructed her, and he got behind her and steered her in the opposite direction of where she had been standing.

He led her to a clearing, warning her of any astray roots. Astoundingly, she made it through with little effort, and never even so much as stumbled.

He grabbed her shoulders and turned her so she faced the wind. Her hair blew in his face, but he brushed it away.

"Close your eyes tight."

"Okay..."

"Are they closed?"

"Yes..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Alright, keep them shut."

"They're shut already!"

He chuckled and slid the blindfold over her hair and away from her face.

"Open your eyes..." he whispered lightly and almost seductively into her ear.

She opened her eyes and blinked at the blinding sunlight that seemed to come from nowhere.

As soon as her eyes adjusted, however, she drew in a sharp breath.

**Zutara-Princess: **Muwahahahahaha! Cliffy!! Hahaha. HOLY FRICKLEN COW!!!!!!! I just realized I haven't updated in a little over a month. I so totally owe you guys!!! I know, With the next week, I'll post two little Zutara drabbles to make up for my lack of writing. I promise.

Zuko: Don't listen to her! She's a procrastinator!!!!

Zutara-Princess: I am not! I'm a perfectionist! Big dif!

Zuko: Yeah, right...

Zutara-Princess: Whatever.

Zuko: REVEIW THE CHAPPIE AND FLAME ZUTARA-PRINCESS FOR NOT UPDATING FOR SO LONG!!!!!!!

Zutara-Princess: Zuko! I'm gonna kill you!

Zuko: Uh-oh...BYE GUYS! DON"T FORGET TO FLAME!

Zutara-Princess: ZUKO! WHEN PRINCESSPINK18 LEARNS ABOUT THIS YOU WILL BE SO DEAD!!!!!!!!!!


	8. Don't Speak drabble 1

**A/N:** I'm bored. I know you love hearing about my moods. TTYL!!

**Zutara-Princess**

**Don't Speak**

**You and me,**

**We used to be together,**

**Everyday together, always.**

Aang sat on the edge of the field near the river, gripping tufts of grass and pulling it out with more force than necessary.

**I really feel that I'm losing my best friend,**

His throat swelled up, and he lost his ability to swallow. Tears welled in his eyes, streaming down his face despite his desperate attempts to blink them back.

He shook his head, still unable to grasp the concept of what he had just seen.

**I can't believe this could be the end.**

Letting out a sob, he pulled his knees towards his chest, finally leaving the grass at peace.

He ignored the soft thud of footsteps on the ground behind him. He didn't want to talk to anyone right now.

Katara almost spoke, but Aang held up his hand.

**It looks as though you're letting go, and if it's real well I don't want to know...**

"Aang," she said softly. He almost gave in. For some reason he could never be mad at her for too long. But he held his ground.

"I don't want to hear it, Katara."

"But Aang-"

"NO!" he jumped to his feet.

**Don't speak.**

**I know just what you're saying,**

She stepped back in surprise. His tattoos were beginning to glow, and his face was in a state of contorted fury. The wind picked up and wipped Katara's hair around, slapping her in the face.

"Aang," she gasped, calling as loud as she could so he could hear her.

"Please, try to understand-"

He turned to her.

"I don't care, okay?! I'm fine, just stop bugging me about it!" his voice sounded distorted and hurt. She wanted to reach out and hug him, but he would just push her away.

**So please stop explaining.**

**Don't tell me cause it hurts.**

Katara's eyes glistened and her stomach took an unexpected lurch, from guilt to absolute remorse.

"Aang, I didn't mean to, really. I'm sorry, I-"

"I thought I told you to drop it! Just leave me alone!"

**Don't speak.**

"Aang, please listen to me. I'm your best friend. Please, just listen to what I have to say."

He calmed himself down slightly, the glow diminishing slowly and the wind demoting itself to a slight breeze.

"Okay," he said quietly.

Katara smiled at him, but he looked away.

**I know what you're thinking,**

**I don't need your reasons.**

"I came here for a reason. You're my best friend. I'd hope you wouldn't take this so hard. I'm in love with Zu-"

"NO! No you're not, Katara!" He felt hurt that she could say the word 'love' and 'Zuko' in the same sentence so easily.

"I read about this once. People who aren't in romantic relationships for a long time get needy, and so they go searching for anyone! You aren't in love with him!"

Katara frowned. This turned out to be a lot harder than she pictured.

"Aang, that doesn't apply to everyone! That's not me! I've never been that type of person and you know that!"

**Don't tell me cause it hurts.**

"You don't love him!"

"Yes, I do! You can't speak things like that for me, Aang! It's my choice!"

"I don't care! Just shut up, Katara!"

She froze. His words shot through her like a poisoned arrow. _Shut up?_ _Why would he say something like that?_

She swallowed a lump in her throat, and her eyes began watering. _Shut up..._

**Our memories, well, they can be inviting,**

**But some are altogether mighty frightening.**

He ran from her, not wanting to face her reaction to his harsh words.

He pushed past the brush that separated the field from the farm, leaving Katara to stare after him in complete shock.

**As we die, both you and I,**

**With my head in my hands I sit and cry.**

Katara turned from Aang's direction to stare at her feet. She felt horrible. She had betrayed him. She never thought such innocent love would leave to such a dilemma. Her world had gone from light and fluffy to 10 ton weights dropped on her shoulders.

Her breath was heavy and so was her heart.

She gripped her arms and began to cry.

**Don't speak.**

**I know just what you're saying,**

She felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw the scarred face of the reason for her and Aang's argument.

**So please stop explaining.**

**Don't tell me cause it hurts.**

He knelt down and wrapped his arms around her. She turned her head back to her feet.

"I heard the whole thing. I'm sorry for doing this, Katara."

"It wasn't your fault. Aang's just going through some hard times. He'll be okay."

But she said this only half heartedly. She really didn't know what would happen. She wasn't very experienced in the field of rejection, so she had no idea how he felt. That meant no empathy. And how could she provide sympathy? He hated her now. He'd just turn it into pity and say he didn't want it.

Zuko leaned over and whispered into her ear.

"I'm going to fix this."

She looked up again.

"How?"

"I-" he broke off nervously. He looked very different now, and the air seemed to turn from a nice breeze to cold and nippy.

She realized what he meant.

**Don't speak.**

**I know what you're thinking,**

"Zuko, no! I don't want to! There's a better way!" tears spilled from her eyes as she spoke, and she grabbed his arm.

"Please..." she pleaded.

He looked away.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I- I just don't want to get in the way anymore." He walked from her into the opposite direction Aang went. Katara just watched. _Could this night get any worse?_

**I don't need your reasons.**

**Don't tell me cause it hurts.**

Katara decided she had been outside for long enough. She headed to the farmhouse for some sleep.

When she entered though, she saw Sokka sitting across the room glaring at her.

"What?" she snapped.

"I know all about it, Katara."

"So?"

"I can't believe you would do something like that! Did you even think about dad? What would he say? What about mom? Did you forget about her, Katara?"

Sokka was bright red.

Katara narrowed her eyes. _He must have been rehearsing this conversation in his head the whole time I was gone._

**It's all ending,**

**I gotta stop pretending who we are...**

But although he appeared angry, Katara could see that Sokka was hurt too.

Her lump came back, this time so big she could barely breath. Tears were coming back and her heart was breaking, so painfully.

But Sokka didn't bother to notice her tears, he was too busy ripping her head off to care.

"I just can't believe this! Out of all of the stupid things you've done Katara, _kissing_ the _Prince_ _of the Fire Nation_? I can't believe you!"

Deciding she had heard enough, she bolted for the room the farmhouse keeper had let her use.

"Katara!" Sokka yelled after her.

**You and me I can see us dying...are we?**

She laid on her mat, having barricaded her door with almost everything in her room.

Sokka had desperately tried to get her to come out, and several times had tried to get in, but failed when he realized he was no match for the heavy furniture pressed against the door.

She stared at the ceiling, eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep, and they were puffed up to the size small rocks,

**Don't speak!**

**I know just what you're saying,**

"Katara! Please, come out! I just want to talk to you!" She heard Aang's familar voice ring loudly through the doors.

She scoffed. _Right. Now he wants to talk. Where was this attitude earlier? _She rolled over on her mat, with her back to the door.

"Katara!" he called out again, this time louder.

"Aang, you can stop yelling, I can hear you just fine."

Sokka, heard her voice and used this as an advantage.

"Ha! We know you're not asleep! Open up!" he yelled, hammering the door with his fists.

"No! I hope you're happy, both of you! I can never see Zuko again and it's all your fault!"

She said the last few words at the top of her lungs, but they could still hear the hurt in her voice.

**So please stop explaining.**

**Don't tell me cause it hurts.**

"Katara..."

Aang stopped himself. This was a delicate situation. If he did anything harsh then he could most likely kiss goodbye to mastering water, and most importantly, his best friend.

He turned his head slightly.

"You keep trying to get in, I need to do something." he whispered to Sokka. He nodded.

"Hurry, I don't think this is working, and I'm starting to get bruises on my hand." Aang nodded and left quickly.

**Don't speak!**

**I know what you're thinking,**

**I don't need your reasons.**

**Don't tell me cause it hurts.**

Aang ran across the lily field where he had previosly vented his anger, and glanced at the shredded grass apologetically before rushing off into the direction of his destination.

He saw a very distant figure and ran towards it at full speed. When he neared it, he slid to a stop. The wind that had been proppelling him forward died down, but not before catching the attention of the figure, which turned to face Aang.

Aang, who was still trying to catch his breath, spoke.

"We-we...need...you...K-katara...needs you...we hafta...get...her...out...Zuko..."

Zuko's eyes widened.

"What?! What's happening? Where's Katara?"

"At...the...f-farm...house..." Aang said, now suffering from lack of air due to Zuko's constriction. His suffocation didn't last very long though, since Zuko dropped him and headed at full speed for Katara. Aang lay on his back and caught his breath. _I probably should've flown instead of ran..._

Ha lay there for a while, thinking about Katara...what was her thing with Zuko?

He shot up. _Oh no!_

"ZUKO!"

He ran towards the farmhouse in a panic. _I probably shoud've been more clear..._he groaned inwarldy and sped forward.

**Don't tell me cause it hurts!**

Zuko burst through the farmhouse doors, frantically searching for any sign of Katara.

Sokka glared him down.

"What...are...you...doing...here?" he said through gritted teeth.

**I know what you're saying,**

**So please stop explaining.**

"I'm here to find your sister peasant, where is she?!"

"I'm not telling you anything!"

**Don't speak,**

Katara heard shouting, and surprisingly, it wasn't at her. Somebody else was there.

"Sokka?" she called.

The two boys looked at the door.

"Sokka? Who's out there?"

Zuko's heart stopped for a moment.

"You...locked...her...in...a...bedroom?" he said slowly.

**don't speak,**

Sokka looked incredious.

"What? Why would I lock my sister away? She ran in there crying and hasn't come out since she got home!"

Zuko looked at the door. _Crying? This whole time?_

Maybe he hadn't gotten in the way by staying, maybe he actually got more in the way by leaving.

He slowly walked towards the door.

**don't speak,**

"What are you doing? You stay away from my sister!"

"Sokka, it's okay," a breathless Aang consoled from the door.

Glancing at Aang and turning back to the door, he knocked lightly.

"Katara, can I come in?"

**Oh I know what you're thinking,**

**And I don't need your reasons.**

He heard some shuffling and a lot of movement before the door cracked open.

"Zuko?"

He smiled at the young girl, before nodding.

"Hey," he said casually, and Katara giggled.

Aang and Sokka breathed a sigh of releif that Katara was happy.

She glared at them.

"What?" Sokka said exasperatedly.

"You know what."

**I know you're good,**

Zuko waved his hand in front of her eyes.

"Hello? I'd still like to come in if you don't mind..."

She pulled the door open further to grant him entry, but shut it quickly when Sokka tried to follow him.

"C'mon Katara!" he called from the other side. She just ignored him.

**I know you're good,**

Before she could even turn around Zuko grabbed around her from behind. She giggled again, and Zuko smiled.

"C'mon guys, I can hear you through the door!" Sokka whined.

**I know you're real good,**

He walked her backwords and plopped down onto her mat, with Katara tumbling after. She giggled again.

"Guys!" a desperate Sokka called, with an obvious hint of disgust in his voice.

"Give it up, Sokka!" a seemingly aggitated Aang shouted.

They heard Sokka sulk away from the door.

**Oh, la la la la la la La la la la la la**

Zuko leaned into Katara's ear.

"I'm sorry, Katara," he whispered.

She leaned back so her lips brushed his collarbone.

"Don't be..." she whispered back.

They leand in closer, and their lips touched.

Suddenly, they heard a loud BANG from the other side of the door.

**Don't, Don't, uh-huh Hush, hush darlin'**

**Hush, hush darlin' Hush, hush...**

"Ah-ha!" Sokka shouted triumphantly, pointing an accusing finger at the two. Aang sulked in.

"Sokka! Katara shouted towards her brother. Both her and Zuko had turned bright shades of pink.

**Don't tell me tell me cause it hurts.**

"Ha! I know your weakness Katara! You're never gonna live this down! Ahaha-hahahaha!"

Katara glanced curiously at Aang.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Momo found some cactus juice..."

**Zutara-Princess: **Ahahahaha! I hadta add a crazy Sokka in there! And you thought this would be a smoky zutara scene, didn't you? The end of the thingey doesn't really fit the song, but, oh well, I lurv happy endings! Oh, and in case you haven't noticed, don't trust any of my deadlines. They're probably wrong, and 99.9 of the time ALWAYS DELAYED. Sorry guys.

REVIEW!! Oh, and this is a LONG drabble. Probably the longest drabble you've ever seen. Okay, so I originally planned this to be a songfic, oh well. And remember, this is just making up for my absence within the last month. I AM SORRY!! THIS IS NOT PART OF THE REGULAR STORY! IT'S JUST AN APOLOGY DRABBLE!!!!

I gotses to go, Bye!

**Zutara-Princess**


	9. Oh no drabble 2

_**Zutara-Princess: **Okay, here is the drabble, just as I promised. Some serious angst, and (suicide) I was in a sad mood today, so I wrote a sad drabble..._

_This is to make up for my lack of updates within the last month. Drabble 2...(no title)_

She gripped his shoulders tightly.

"Please don't go!" she cried. Her eyes shined. They were so honest and pure he just had to look away.

Her heart broke.

"Why? Why do you have to? I never want you to leave...why are they making you? Why are you letting them?" she said quietly.

He turned to her.

"I don't want to..." he leaned in and gently brushed her lips.

She turned away.

"Zuko..."

"Katara..." he pulled her in closer, "I have no choice. Please, don't act like this..."

She gave into his passion. Resting her hands upon his shoulders she turned to face him.

Meeting his gaze, her lips swept his, and before she could think, he kissed her roughly.

She moaned into his mouth and before she could shut it his tounge entered.

Just as she began to relax into the sensation of his kiss, he pulled from her.

"I have to go..." he said, choking back a sob. Tears were weak, he always told himself, and his father would never except him if he was the type of boy who cried.

He turned and left through the door.

Katara fell to her knees and began shaking.

_It'll be hell without him..._

She slammed herhand on the desk behnd her without looking. Groping around the smooth top, she found what she was searching for.

Lifting the object almost triumphantly, she glanced at what she was holding. Her brother's boomerang.

She stood and outstretched her hands to their fullest extent.

Tears flew from her face, and the breeze from outside entered through the door that Zuko had forgotten to shut, making the small lantern in the corner lose its flare.

Now unable to see, she raised the boomerang higher in fromt of her.

She shouted her last words, "I am Katara, of the Southern Water Tribe! Friend of the Avatar, Aang, Toph, his earthbending master, sister to Sokka, granddaughter to Kana, and lover to Prince Zuko, of the Fire Nation! Upon my last words, I ask the spirits to deliver this message to the avatar: I apologize for my abrupt absence, and I ask you to forgive me. You are my family, and I will never forget you!"

She braced herself steadily.

With tears running down her cheeks, she said the last words quieter, so the spirits could not hear.

"I love you, Zuko." she brought the boomerang down to impact her stomache.

Her body fell limp, and she collapsed to the ground beneath her, lifeless.

**Zutara-Princess: **I know, I know. Go ahead, murder me, but then you won't get the next chappie! hahaha!

I know, Katara would never really kill herself, I just thought it'd sound pretty cool. And my language arts teacher said it's easier to write when you express your moods through your writing. So I did. I AM NOT THINKING ABOUT SUICIDE!!!!! I am just sad. Suicide is sad, so I wrote about it.

My mom is getting anxious and SO FLIPPING ANNOYING!!!! She's rushing me to get off of the computer, so I'd better go.

REVIEW!! (or no new chapter)

BYE!

**Zutara-Princess**


	10. The Bridge

**Author's note: **_Sorry guys, I haven't updated in awhile. Please, I won't feel better until you flame me for taking so long! I have reasonable and truthful reasons as to why it's been awhile, but I refuse to make excuses. Virtual cookies for anyone who will make up an excuse for me, and no lying! Ta ta!_

**The Bridge**

"Oh my goodness," she breathed.

Her attention was focused entirley on the beautiful landscape portrayed in front of her.

There were wildflowers, and a waterfall, and rabbits, and, oh! How lovely it was! Mist sprayed from where the waterfall met the small creek at the bottom of the ravine, birds sat atop the branches, mocking the ground that the flightless were forever bound to, hummingbirds were beating their small wings to the rythym of it all, and, in the very center, beyond all of the flowers, all of the animals and glittering water, lay a bridge.

Not _a_ bridge, _the _bridge. The most magnificent walkway man or creature had ever lain eyes on, and the fact that her and Zuko had been the lucky ones to stumble upon it was no accident. At least, it didn't seem that way.

"How- when did you- oh my!" Katara stuttered. She was speechless, and talking was usually one of her strongpoints.

Zuko tried his best to keep from laughing. Her expression was priceless. He noticed the water, and then his smell.

_Bath. Bath, bath, bath, bath, bath. Can't forget to take a bath. Need a bath, I stink, I really need a bath. Bath, bath, bath, bath, bath, bath, bath, bath, bath, bath, bath, bath, bath-_

"Zuko?"

He looked up from his deep thought.

"Are you okay? You're just staring out in space..." Katara asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, sorry." Zuko looked around for a good source of water. His eyes kept falling into the green ditch that was the ravine. _No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Anywhere but there, not in that smelly, stinky, swampy, slimy, gross, disgusting, filthy excuse for a river. Never gonna happen, not in a million-_

"I smell bad," Katara said self-critically, "I think I'll go bathe now."

She worked her way down to the water and Zuko sighed. _I guess I have no choice. _He followed her.

She was very far ahead, and he seemed to stay that way. Whenever she looked back she'd see him struggling against the weeds and dead branches to follow her.

She'd giggle, occasionally yelling things out to him,like 'I can't beleive you're so slow!' or 'I'm beating you!'. This annoyed Zuko to no end, until he finally gathered up his gusto to call, "Just you wait! When I catch up with you you won't be making fun of me much longer!"

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" she called.

"It can be!" Katara laughed and kept walkeing, or at least, she tried to. It appeared her foot was trapped on something, and it wouldn't let her leave. She tugged at her leg, balancing her concentration with her leg, and balancing itself. Her efforts of staying upright were fruitless, and she tumbled over, rolling until she reached a part of a trail they had apparantly missed earlier.

Zuko never noticed her fall, for he had turned around in a particular area to make it down safely, but when he finally caught up with her, he almost died laughing. The girl was slightly rumpled, and her hair was sticking out in odd places. Her leggings were torn and dirty, along with the rest of her, and she had several scattered cuts and bruises everywhere he could see, not to mention where he couldn't.

His laughing rewarded him with a glare from Katara, which encouraged him more.

"Be quiet and help me out, would you?!" He laughed even harder, so hard, in fact, that he began to cough.

"Serves you right!" Katara called while wrestling with whatever was entagled in her legs. "If you won't help me I'll do it myself!" She tugged as hard as she could, only succeeding in making it worse. Zuko doubled over.

"I-I can't-can't beleive you-you did that!" His voice rung throughout feilds, echoing back to them

Katara stopped wrestling long enough to glare at him

"Gee thanks, wise guy, you just woke up the whole town! Now your sister's gonna find us for sure!" zZuko stop laughing immediately at the mention of his sister.

Katara rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I thought so."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Aang and Sokka looked as though they were going to cry.

"I don't know what to do! She's been missing for more than a week! Where could she be?!" Sokka shouted exasperatedly. Yet another day of fruitless searching had gone by, and they were getting really worried.

They had forced themselves to avoid talking about the possibility of her being dead, but it was no use. The thought ran through their minds every single day.

It wasn't as if nobody had seen her, oh no. There had been countless claims of seeing a 'brown-haired, blue-eyed woman in the company of a strange man'. Sokka thought they were lying though, especially sincehe knew for a fact Katara had no one to travel with, unless she ran into Haru or something, and one of the witnesses turned out to be the bratty toddler's mother. Since everyone seemed to know her, Sokka felt they were being set up by the entire island.

"Why won't you beleive me?!" The woman had once complained to Sokka, "I'm telling you, I know exactly who you're talking about and she's with some guy in the woods! I saw her go there with him just a few days ago! She could be in danger right now if you don't listen to me!" Sokka had shrugged her off.

Now he desperately regretted that. The woman wouldn't talk to him or Aang at all, they already tried. Besides, after so long, Katara could have reached the Earth Kingdom by now, her information would probably be dead.

What worried Sokka was that his sister, his sweet, loving, baby sister, was in the company of some guy he didn't know all alone, and, oh no! Why hadn't he seen it before? Katara must have been kidnapped!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Azula! What happened?!" Ty Lee asked her worredly. She had just returned to camp wet and absolutley covered in filth.

"What's that smell?" Mai complained, earning Azula's trade mark death glare.

"Things came out rather ugly," Azula said trying to keep her anger under control. Having been beat by he inferior brother and some water peasant did not sound like it would do well in pleasin her father. At least she had one thing.

"How has he been treating you, girls?" Azula asked. She needed an outlet for her anger. Practicing would give away their position, thus was out of the question, but punishment should do nicely, especially since she got to punish _him_.

"He was great! He made us tea! The best I'd ever tasted! It really calmes the nerves!" Ty Le exclaimed.

"You...let...him...out?" Azula questioned tentively. Today was _not_ her lucky day.

"Well, umm..." the young acrobat started.

"It was Ty Lee, not me, so whatever the punishment is for whatever she did, don't include me," Mai cleared her name before retiring for the night. She didn't need to wake up to Ty Lee telling her they had to go out and capture the avatar on their own or something to pay back for letting the tea-obsessed old man out of his cell.

"Ummm...Goodnight!" the girl called desperately, hinting she needed help. _Sorry, _Mai thought, _I don't see how i can help you out of this one._

Taking one last glance at the circus girl cowering at the mercy of the princess, the warrior sighed and walked into her tent.

**Sorry! I'm sorry! I really, really, am! I swear! I took so long it was funny, then not funny, then side-splitter! Flame me! FLAME ME!!!!! NOW!!! (oh, and I finally added Aang and Sokka back into the story, I shoulda done that awhile ago...)**

**I know, this chapter is far too short for my long delay. Luckily, it's winter vacation and I plan on catching up over the next two weeks!**

**Chau! or Chow! or Chou! or however you spell it!! okay, you know what, i just think 'goodbye' is easier, so, goodbye!**

**Zutara-Princess**


End file.
